Sombre tributes on 9/11 anniversary

TRUMP SALUTES ‘HEROES’ OF FLIGHT 93 IN PENNSYLVANIA; SAYS AMERICA WILL NEVER FLINCH IN THE FACE OF EVIL

President Donald Trump paid tribute yesterday to the “heroes” who fought back against hijackers on September 11, 2001, vowing America would never flinch in the face of evil and that he would do whatever it takes to keep the country safe.

Under a grey sky in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Trump praised the courage of the 40 men and women aboard Flight 93 who rushed the four hijackers who had diverted the plane and were targeting Washington. “The passengers and crew members came together, took a vote, and they decided to act,” Trump said.

“They attacked the enemy. They fought until the very end. And they stopped the forces of terror and defeated this wicked, horrible evil plan.”

He said the “brave patriots turned the tide on our nation’s enemies and joined the immortal ranks of American heroes.”

After calling their loved ones to say final farewells, many passengers aboard Flight 93 are believed to have charged the hijackers and prevented it from striking the US capital.

The plane crashed into a field in the rural Pennsylvanian town, where a permanent memorial called the “Tower of Voices” has been erected.

“This memorial is now a message to the world. America will never, ever submit to tyranny,” Trump said, noting that nearly 5.5 million Americans have joined the US military since 9/11.

Earlier in New York, at Ground Zero, there was a minute’s silence at 8.46am, the moment the first of two hijacked airliners struck the World Trade Center. Relatives began reading out the long list of those who were killed, saying a few words about those who died, in a ceremony that takes longer than three hours.

In all, four planes were hijacked by Al Qaida militants who used them to topple the trade centre’s twin towers and hit the Pentagon.

At the Pentagon, a huge American flag was unfurled over the building’s western side at sunrise, marking the spot where Flight 77 smashed into the military headquarters.

During a ceremony at the Pentagon’s 9/11 memorial site, Vice-President Mike Pence touted Trump’s support for the military.

AP New York City firefighters salute in front of a memorial on the side of a firehouse adjacent to One World Trade Centre and the 9/11 Memorial site during ceremonies on the anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York yesterday.

AP People walk around Pepperdine University’s annual display of flags honouring the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in Malibu, California, on Monday.